WO2005031617A1

WO2005031617A1 - A method and system for playing a game

Info

Publication number: WO2005031617A1
Application number: PCT/AU2004/001335
Authority: WO
Inventors: George Hayes
Original assignee: George Hayes
Priority date: 2003-09-29
Filing date: 2004-09-29
Publication date: 2005-04-07

Abstract

There is disclosed a method for playing a game in which one or more players play against a house, by attempting to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by the house from a group of game elements.

Description

A method and system for playing a game

Field of the invention The invention relates to a method and system for playing a game which can be played by one or more people. Background of the invention The gambling industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. In Australia alone, the total net takings from gambling in 2000-01 was $13,839 million. The gambling industry offers an extensive range of gaming products to interested players. The existence and appeal of the extensive range of gaming products provides a market for the introduction of new gaming products .

Summary of the invention In a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for playing a game wherein one or more players play against a house, by attempting to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by the house from a group of game elements, said method including the steps of: comparing the subset of elements selected by the house to a prediction made by the or each player, determining a matched subset for the or each player that includes the subset of elements selected by the house that are included in the prediction made by the player; and comparing the or each player's matched subset with one or more predefined winning element combinations to determine whether the or each player has won. Preferably the method further includes: assigning a value to each element of the group; and calculating a total value of the elements of the or each player's matched subset; and comparing the calculated value of the elements in the or each player's matched subset to at least one predetermined criterion to deteπnine whether each player has won against the predetermined criterion. The method can further include awarding a prize if a player has won. In certain embodiments the method can include receiving a wager on the outcome of the game from a player. Preferably the elements of the group are represented as playing cards or numbers.

It is also preferably that the winning element combinations represent poker hands. For example the winning element combinations include one or more of the following poker hands: Royal Flush; Straight Flush; Three Pairs; Four-of-a-Kind; Full House; Straight;

Flush; Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pairs, a Pair. The winning element combinations can also include one or more of the following card combinations: Five picture playing cards; Five alternating playing cards; Five playing cards from 9 high to 4 low which does not contain a straight; any pairs or flushes. The predetermined criterion is that the calculated value of the elements a player's matched subset is greater than or equal to a threshold value. If the elements of the group represent playing cards, it is preferable that the value of the non-picture playing cards is defined as the card's face value, the value of picture cards is defined as 10 and the value of an ace is defined as 11. The threshold value is preferably 51 , however other thresholds may be used in other embodiments. In a second aspect there is provided a system for playing a game wherein one or more players play against a house, by attempting to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by the house from a group of game elements, the system including: input means configured to receive from the or each player, a prediction of the subset of game elements that will be selected for the ho se; a computer memory and computer processor means, said computer memory storing thereon a set of instructions configured to cause the computer processor means to: select a plurality of game elements for the house; compare the prediction made by the or each player with the elements selected for the house to determine the or each player's matched subset; and compare the matched subset for the or each player to one or more predefined winning element combinations to determine if the or each player has won. The system can further include one or more display means configured to visually communicate to the one or more players at least the elements selected for the house. The system can also include a wagering sub-system associated with the input terminal that is configured to receive bets from one or more players. The sub-wagering system is preferably further configured to pay a dividend to one or more winning players at the completion of the game. The computer processor means can be further configured to calculate the total value of a player's matched subset and compare the total value of a player's matched subset to a predetermined criterion. The computer processor means can be further be configured to determine a dividend to be awarded to a player if the player has won. The input means preferably includes one or more of the following input devices: a reading device configured to read a machine readable card or coupon or the like; a keyboard; a keypad; a touch sensitive display; one or more push-buttons; a computer mouse, an automated voice response system; a speech recognition interface. The computer processor means can be further configured to select one or more elements to be included in a player's prediction. Preferably the computer processor means is configured to make a prediction for a player such that the elements predicted for the player include at least one subset of elements that fulfils the predetermined criterion. In certain embodiments at least one of the input means and the one or more display means is located remotely from the computer processor means. hi a further aspect the present invention provides a game card for use in a game played in accordance with an embodiment of the methods described above which includes a plurality of indicating zones corresponding to respective elements of the group said indicating zones being selectable by a player to indicate the player's prediction that the corresponding element of the group will be selected by the house. The game card preferably includes indicia indicating which element of the group corresponds to each indicating zone. Each indicating zone can be associated with a representation of the rank and suit of the playing card corresponding to the element represented by the indicating zone. Preferably the representation of the rank and suit of the playing card includes a representation of a face of a playing card. Preferably the game card includes one or more indicating zones selectable by a player to indicate a wager made by the player in respect of the game. Preferably the game card includes one or more indicating zones selectable by a player to indicate the number of games to be played by the player. Preferably the game card includes one or more indicating zones selectable by a player to indicate the number of elements intended to be selected by the player. The game card is preferably machine readable. hi another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for conducting a game, played by a plurality of players including; defining a group of elements with which the game is to be played; providing, for each of said players a game set representing a plurality of elements of said group; and selecting elements of the group at least until at least one winner is declared, wherein a player is eligible to be declared a winner when a subset of elements of the player's game set that match the selected elements, form at least one predefined winning element combination. The method can include: assigning a value to each element of the group; and calculating a total value of the elements in a player's game set that match the selected elements; wherein a player is eligible to be declared a winner if the total value of the elements in the player's game set that match the randomly selected elements meets at least one predetermined criterion. The predetermined criterion preferably requires the total value of the elements in a player's game set that match the selected elements is at least equal to a predetermined threshold. In certain embodiments the elements of the group are represented as playing cards, h these embodiments the winning element combinations can represent poker hands. For example, the winning element combinations include one or more of the following poker hands: Royal Flush; Straight Flush; Three Pairs; Four-of-a-KLind; Full House; Straight; Flush; Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pairs; a Pair. The winning element combinations can also include one or more of the following card combinations: Five picture playing cards; Five alternating playing cards; Five playing cards from 9 high to 4 low which does not contain a straight, any pairs or flushes. Preferably the predetermined threshold value is 51. h yet another aspect of the present invention the present invention provides a game card for use in a game played in accordance with any one of the methods described above and includes a plurality of indicia representing the elements of a player's game set. The game card can be configured to allow a player to record that an element in the game set matches one of the selected elements. Preferably the elements of the group are represented by playing cards. Preferably each element in the players game set is represented by a representation of the rank and suit of the playing card. The representation of the rank and suit of the playing card can be in the form of a representation of a face of a playing card. Preferably the indicia representing the elements of the player's game set are arranged in one or more rows or columns. Each row preferably includes representations of 5 group elements. In a particularly preferred embodiment the indicia representing the elements of the player's game set are arranged in three rows. In a further aspect the present invention also extends to a computer software application configured to cause one or more processors to implement a game played in accordance with the method described above.

Brief description of the drawings Notwithstanding other forms that may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred embodiments of which will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps in playing a game according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a set of card selections made by four players of a game according to the present invention; Figure 2A shows a card selection made by the "house" during a game according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows the cards matched by the players of the exemplary game; Figure 4A shows a schematic representation of a stand alone gaming machine configured to allow a game according to an embodiment of the present invention to be played; Figure 4B shows an exemplary system allowing a game according to an embodiment of the present invention to be played by a plurality of players in one location; Figure 4C shows an exemplary embodiment of a system allowing a plurality of players to play a game according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the players maybe located across a number of remote locations; Figure 5 shows an example of a betting slip for use with an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 6 shows a game card suitable use in a bingo-style variant of a game according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed description of the embodiments In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the elements used in the game are represented as playing cards, and thus the group of elements from which the house player selects its elements forms a deck of playing cards. In the prefened embodiment the group is a modified deck of cards, being a deck of cards from which the 2s and 3s of each suit have been removed. If desired a full deck of 52 playing cards or any other modified deck may be used. It should be understood that the elements of the group do not have to be represented as playing cards, but can be represented by any type of indicia capable of distinguishing elements in the group. Thus the elements can be represented as numbers (as traditionally used in keno), symbols, pictures or any other differentiating indicia. In a similar fashion to keno a player competes against the organiser of the game, "the house", and not other players. Therefore, an unlimited number of people can play and possibly win the one game. Figure 1 is a flowchart that illustrates the steps in an embodiment of a game played in accordance with the present invention. As mentioned above the present game is played by one or more players playing against a house, h the game each of the players attempt to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by (or on behalf of) the house from a group of game elements. However rather than requiring a straight match between the his or her prediction and the house selection to win, the elements matched by a player must meet include one or more of a group of predetermined winning combinations for the player to win. Thus trie game begins by the house defining a plurality of winning element combinations in step 12. Next, in step 14 each player makes a prediction of the elements that will be selected by the house. Following step 14, the house's selection is made in step 16. In step 18 the subset of elements that is selected by (or for) the house is compared to the prediction made by each player to determine the intersection of these two subsets in step 18. The intersection between a player's prediction and the house's selected elements is termed the player's matched subset. To determine whether the player is a winner in step 20 each player's matched subset is compared, in step 22 to the winning element combinations defined in step 12 to determine whether any of the winning combinations are present. In the event that one or more winning combinations are present the player is determined to have won 24. On the other hand, if the matched subset is not a winning combination the player has not won 26. a more advanced embodiment the game can continue. In this embodiment a numerical (or points) value is assigned to each member of the group of elements, and the total value of each player's matched subset is determined in step 28. To play this embodiment a predetermined value based criterion (or criteria) will have been predetermined in step 30. The total value of the elements of each player's matched subset is then compared, in step 32 to the predetermined criterion (or criteria). If the total value meets the predetermined criterion (or criteria) the player wins 34. On the other hand if the predetermined criterion (or criteria) are not met the player does not win 36. As can be seen from the above, steps 12 to 26 of the game of the illustrated embodiment, is similar to keno, and can be played in three main phases, as follows. The game will typically begin with a "betting phase" in which the players can make their selections and if desired place a wager on the game. The next phase is the "play phase", in which the house selects its hand from the group, and lastly the "payout phase" in which the game's outcome is assessed and payouts made to the winners. In the "betting phase", as in keno, the players select a group of elements that they believe will be drawn by the house, h the illustrated embodiment this is done by each player selecting 7 or more playing cards from the deck that they believe will match those drawn by the house. Practically this can be done by a player by completing a betting slip, or by using an electronic gaming terminal or machine, to indicate the player's selection and their wager. Next in the "play phase" the house randomly selects a predetermined number of playing cards from the deck, hi the illustrated embodiment the house selects 13 cards, however any number may be used. In general, the house will select more cards than the players were entitled to predict. Each game is completed by a "payout phase" in which a comparison is made between each player's prediction and the house's selection to determine if each player has won. If the player has won the player is paid a payout according to a set of predetermined odds and the value of their bet. hi the illustrated embodiment reference is made to various aspects of the popular game of poker to determine whether a player has won. hi the illustrated embodiment for a player to win the player's cards that match the cards selected by the house must form one of a number of types of winning poker hands. Winning poker hands can be defined as desired, but may advantageously include the following well known poker hands:

Non-traditional card combinations can also be defined as winning hands to add interest to the game, thus winning poker hands may additionally include combinations such as: • Five picture playing cards; • Five alternating playing cards; and • Five playing cards from 9 high to 4 low which does not contain a straight, any pairs or flushes. Thus it will be seen that in the illustrated embodiment the game operates in much the same way as keno in that a plurality of players attempt to predict elements from the group that match those selected by the house. However, the illustrated embodiment differs from keno in that, in order for a player to win, their combination of matched elements must also meet predetermined criteria e.g. the matched elements represented by cards must constitute a valid winning poker hand. In the illustrated embodiment the players are given a second chance of winning, which in the illustrated embodiment operates in a similar fashion to the popular game of blackjack (also known as Twenty One or Pontoon), this part of the game the value of the playing cards in a player's hand which match the house selection is added and compared to a winning criterion as in blackjack. Preferably the playing cards are assigned the same values they are assigned in the game of blackjack, however, an Ace is preferably only able to be assigned a value of 11 points. It will be appreciated that any desired values could be assigned to the "cards" however using the values assigned in blackjack allows the operation of the game to be easily understood by a large section of the card playing population. hi a preferred embodiment, to win the second part of the game the total value of the matched subset must be greater than or equal to 51 points, that is the predetermined criterion for winning the second aspect of the game is that the value of the "cards" in the intersection of the player's prediction and the house's selection must be greater than or equal to 51 points. Thus if the matching cards in the players hand total over 51 points the player wins on this second part of the game. As will be appreciated, a plurality of players may have a winning hand that totals above 51, and thus many people may win in this aspect of the game. h this embodiment of the game players do not play against the house in the traditional fashion of blackjack. However a form of competition with the house can be introduced in an alternative embodiment. In this embodiment the winning threshold is not set at 51 or another fixed number, but is determined by the cards selected by the house during the game, for example the winning threshold may be determined by totalling the value of a subset of the cards selected by the house such as the first 5 cards drawn or the 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th, 7^th and 9^th cards drawn by the house. The threshold may alternatively be determined by combining a fixed value with the total value of one or more cards drawn by the house, for example, the threshold may be determined by adding 30 to the value of two of the cards chosen by the house, e.g. the 1st card and the last card. Thus using the modified deck of the illustrated embodiment the threshold may range between 38 (determined by 30 plus two "fours") and 52 (determined by 30 plus two aces). Various other formulae could be used to set a competitive threshold. The illustrated embodiment of the present invention will now be further explained with reference to four players playing an exemplary game, with reference to Figure 2. h the illustrative embodiments the defined winning element combinations are as follows: Royal Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Straight, Flush, Three-of-a-Kind, and Two Pairs. In the second aspect of the game the winning threshold is set at 51. It should be noted that in this example a pair is not defined as a winning element combination, however in other embodiments of the invention a pair may be included as a winning element combination. Figure 2 sets out the cards predicted by four players 50 in an example game. The cards predicted by each of the Players 1 to 4 are listed in horizontal rows 52, 54, 56 and 58 respectively. As the players are able to predict their cards independently of each other player the same card may be selected by more than one of the players, for example the Jack of Hearts has been predicted by Player 1 and Player 3. Similarly the Queen of Spades has been predicted by Players 2 and 4. The number of cards which are predicted by each player can also be chosen by the players. Allowable card predictions can be varied depending on the chosen implementation of the game. However, it is envisaged that between 7 and 9 cards will be predicted by the players. As will be noted Player 1 has predicted 8 cards, whereas Players 2 and 3 have predicted 7 cards each and Player 4 has predicted 9 cards. Figure 2A shows a set of thirteen cards 60 that have been randomly selected by the house during the "play phase" of the game. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art the cards can be selected by the house in a wide variety of ways including but not limited to manual selection from a keno "goose", computerised selection or manual selection from a deck of cards. Figure 3 shows the comparison of cards predicted by each player to those selected by the house, hi Figure 3 those cards shown in dotted outline do not match a card selected by the house, whereas those cards showing their face value match a card selected by the house. The cards matched by Players 1 through 4 are indicated in rows 130, 140, 150 and 160 respectively. The cards matched by each player becomes the player's "poker hand" for the "payout phase" of the game in which the matching subset in each player's prediction are compared against the predetermined winning combinations to determine whether each of the players has won. As can be seen Player 1 's prediction 52 matches 5 of the cards selected by the house. Therefore, Player l's matched hand 130 consists of the 5 cards, the Jack: of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, Seven of Hearts, Seven of Clubs and the Seven of Spades, hi accordance with the predefined winning hands Player l 's matched hand 130 is a Full House, and therefore, Player 1 has won. Next Player l's hand is compared to the winning threshold for the second aspect of the game to determine whether the player has won. In this embodiment the winning threshold is chosen to be 51. The combined value of the playing cards in Player l's matched hand is 41 points, and since this is less than the 51 point threshold Player 1 has not won the second aspect of the game. Player 2's prediction 54 matches 4 of the cards selected by the house. Therefore,

Player 2's matched hand 140 consists of the 4 cards, the Ace of Hearts, Ace of Spades,

Queen of Hearts and the Queen of Clubs. Player 2 holds Two Pairs in his or her matched hand, therefore Player 2 has won the poker aspect of the game. Player 2 has not won the second aspect of the game as the value of Player 2's matched hand 140 is only 42 points. Player 3's prediction 56 matches 6 of the 13 playing cards selected by the house. Therefore, Player 3's matched hand 150 consists of the 6 cards, the Queen of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, Ten of Clubs, Seven of Hearts and the Six of Clubs. The matching cards 150 are compared to the predefined winning hands to determine if Player 3 has won in this aspect of the game. A single pair is not defined as a "winning hand" therefore as Player 3 does not hold one of the predetermined winning poker hands, the player has not won the Poker aspect of the game. However, since the combined value of Player 3's matched hand is 53 points, Player 3 wins the second aspect of the game. Finally, Player 4's prediction 58 matched only 2 of the house's selection. Therefore as Player 4's matched hand 160 consists of only 2 cards, the Ace of Spades and the Seven of Spades, the combined value of which is only 17, Player 4 has won neither the first nor second aspects of the game. In the event that a player's matched had includes more than one winning element combination the game will typically be played so that only the highest ranked, or highest paying winning combination is counted. For example if a player's matched subset includes a full house as a winning element combination, it will also include a three-of-a- kind and a pair, which may also be defined as winning element combinations, h this case only the full-house is counted as a win because it out ranks the three-of-a-kind and pair. Alternatively, if a player's matched subset includes a relatively low ranking winning element combination, but it also meets the second winning criterion, the win against the second criterion can be payed in preference to the win on the first aspect of the game if the payout for the second aspect is greater than for the first aspect of the game. An example of this situation could arise for Player 3 in the above example if a pair was defined as a winning element combination, and winning in the second aspect of the game out ranked "a pair" in terms of the payout awarded to the player. In this scenario Player 3's pair of "Jacks" would constitute a winning element combination but no payout on the pair would eventuate as the player has won a larger prize by having a total value in his hand of 53. As a result a player will typically only win once in a game rather than multiple times with the same matched subset. In this situation the win that is payed will be the one having the greatest benefit to the player. Other embodiments may pay a win for all winning element combinations matched by a player, however suitable winning dividends will have to be calculated in this situation to account for the potential increase winnings by players. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art various embodiments of a game of the type described above with adaptations and/or modifications can be readily played in a number of ways. For example, the game may be played manually using a deck of cards and some means of players indicating their prediction from the deck. This type of embodiment may be particularly suited to play in a bingo-style manner. Alternatively, rather than using a deck of cards, a traditional keno "Goose" could be used to select balls which represent playing cards. The house's selected cards can then be displayed on an electronic display, monitor, board or the like. With the popularity of electronic gaming machines such as poker machines and card machines, and the advent of online gaming it is also envisaged that embodiments of a game such as that described above, or variations thereof may readily be implemented in an electronic environment. The game may be implemented so as to be playable in a number of ways including but not limited to: (a) a single player at a stand alone gaming machine; (b) one or more players in a designated room of a casino or club with a centralised game system, similar to a keno room; (c) in an establishment, such as a club or casino, with one or more input terminals at which players may indicate their predictions and place their bets, and one or more displays for notifying players of the house's selections; (d) via a number of such terminals connected by a computer network allowing the game to be played across a number of locations; and (e) on a home computer or via on-line application or using a web-page or purpose-written software interface. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the field, electronic methods of gaming are becoming increasingly popular. Accordingly, it is envisaged that a game according to an embodiment of the present invention can advantageously be implemented in an electronic gaming environment. Three electronic gaming systems will now be described which will allow one or more players to take part in a game according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that whilst three exemplary systems will be described, a game according to an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in a wide variety of other types of systems. Figure 4A shows a schematic representation of a gaming machine 400 configured to implement the present invention. The gaming machine 400 includes 4 main functional parts, namely an input terminal 402, a wager/payout system 404, a game processor means

406 and a display 408. In use the input terminal 402 allows a player to enter their card predictions and indicate the size of the wager that they wish to make. The input terminal 402 may take the form of a modified keyboard or touch pad, or may be implemented as a card reader or other type of interface for reading a machine readable betting slip or the like. The gaming machine 400 also includes a wager/payout system 404 into which a player can deposit his or her bets. Typically, the wager/payout system 404 will include means to allow a player to insert coins or bank notes, or some form of electronic card reader to authorise electronic banking transactions. The wager/payout system 404 may also include a payment system to allow a player's winnings to be returned to the player at the end of a game. The game processing means 406 will typically include at least one computer processor and memory means, wherein the processor means will operate under the control of a software application residing in the computer memory which will cause the processor means to implement a game according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processor means will save in its memory data relating to the predictions made by the player and the bets made. The game processor means 406 will also include a random number generator which is used to select the house's hand during the game. The game processor means 406 will also run a program segment which allows comparison between the player's predicted hand and the house's randomly generated hand to determine whether a player has won. The game processor means 406 also calculates the appropriate payoff for the player in the event of a win. The display means 408 which is coupled to the game processor means 406 is used during the betting phase to display to the player his or her card predictions and bets. The display means 408 is also used to illustrate to the player the house's selections and the player's matching hand at the end of each game. As will be appreciated the gaming machine 400 of the type described in Figure 4A is typically played by one person in the same manner as a poker machine or card machine, with the result of each game being displayed to the player as it is played. Figure 4B shows an exemplary system which may be used in a casino or club or other establishment to allow a plurality of players to take part in a game according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system shown in Figure 4B is typical of a traditional keno system with the exception that the house game processor means 422 rather than playing keno implements a game according to an embodiment of the present invention. Various modifications to the wagering terminal 424 and displays 426 will typically be implemented to tailor the system for playing an embodiment of the present invention. In broad terms the system 420 includes a house game processor means 422 which controls the game. The house game processor means 422 operates in much the same way as the game processor means 406 described in connection with Figure 4A and includes a random number generator which is used to make the house's card selection. System 420 also includes a plurality of wagering terminals 424 which are connected to the house game processor means 422. The wagering terminals 424 allow a plurality of players to enter their predictions and make their bets, this embodiment it is envisaged that players will play more than one game and that the wagering terminal 424 will allow cards to be predicted and bets to be laid on a plurality of games to be played in the future. For example, a player may want to play the next 20 available games, and the player may want to make a prediction including the same cards for each of the games and bet the same amount on each game. The wagering terminal 424 may be operated by a cashier or other staff member to assist a player in making their bets or may be fully automated. In a fully automated system the wagering terminal 424 will perform a similar function to the input terminal

402, the wager/payout system 404 and display 408 of Figures 4A. If the wagering terminal 424 is operated by a cashier it will be advantageous that the function of collection of bets and payment of payouts will be performed by a separate cashier system, h most embodiments players will indicate the amount of a bet and their card predictions on a machine readable betting slip, which will be used by the wagering terminal 424 to input the player's indicated predictions. The system 420 will additionally include one or more displays 426 which are used to alert players to the status of particular games and the house's selection in the current game. The displays 426 will typically take the form of either a computer monitor or electronic display board, in much the same way as a traditional keno display. However, rather than indicating numbers in the preferred embodiments of the present invention the displays 424 will display which playing cards have been selected by the house game processor means 422. The system according to Figure 4B will typically be implemented across a gaming club or casino with one or more wagering terminals 424 and displays 426 in the various rooms of the club or casino in order to allow players in each of the rooms to take part in a single game. It is common in the gaming industry for games such as keno to be played across a number of different casinos or clubs in different geographical locations. An exemplary system to enable gaming at various remote locations it is shown in Figure 4C. In this system 440 a plurality of house gaming systems 420, 420A, 420B, 420C and 420D are communicatively linked to a central game server 450. Each of the house systems e.g. 420 is generally the same as the system 420 depicted in Figure 4B. hi this embodiment the game server 450 controls the game being played in each of the various locations. En this regard the game server 450 will typically track the betting pool and dictate a betting cut off time for all of the house systems 420 across the network. The game server 450 will also be used to select one house hand which will be used by each of the house systems 420 to determine whether players have won or lost, hi this regard the house game processor means 422 of each of the house systems 420 will chiefly monitor the predictions and bets made by the players in that location and be used to calculate payouts and provide an interface between the game server 450 and the display 426. Optionally the systems described above can be enabled with an "auto-pick" functionality using which a player can ask the system to select elements for his or her prediction. The player will typically select the number of elements that they wish to have selected for them by the system e.g. 7, 8 or 9 cards. In some cases the system's auto-pick selection will be random, however the auto- pick can be implemented such that some of the system's selections for the player are not entirely random, for example the system can be set up to choose a hand so that it includes some cards that are capable of winning against the second winning threshold. This may be achieved by requiring the system to pick at least 5 cards for a player that have a value of 10 or greater such that the total value of the player's 7 card hand will always be greater than 51. Accordingly the player will always have a chance of winning against the second winning threshold if a sufficient number of the player's predicted cards match those drawn by the house. As mentioned above a machine readable betting slip may be used to input a player's prediction and betting details into a system configured to play a game according to the present invention. Such a betting slip will be similar to betting slips used at racecourses or in betting shops to allow gamblers to lay bets on horse races. It will be appreciated that various modifications to the layout of the card will be necessary to adapt a known machine readable betting slips for use with the present invention. Figure 5 depicts an example of the layout of a suitable betting slip. As will be understood a betting slip is a form of machine readable card or piece of paper or the like which has a plurality of zones or selection boxes that may be marked or otherwise selected by a player to indicate the player's predictions and bets when participating in a gambling activity. To input the bet into the game system a card reader device is used. Once the wager is entered into the system the player is typically required to pay a cashier the value of his or her bet and is given a receipt indicating the details of the bet. The receipt will usually also be machine readable so that after the game has been completed the card reader can be used to verify whether the player has won. In certain embodiments the receipt is printed on the player's betting slip. In Figure 5 the betting slip 500 includes a plurality of selection boxes 502, which the player may use to indicate which elements in the group the player believes will be drawn by the house during a game. To choose an element the player puts a cross or other mark in the selection box corresponding to a predicted element. h the preferred embodiment, in which the elements of the group are represented as playing cards, the selection boxes 502 may include representations of playing cards.

Preferably the selection boxes 502 are arranged in a plurality of rows according to the suit of the cards, and a plurality of rows according to their face value, thus forming a grid of cards as shown in Figure 5. A layout of this type is considered intuitive for players to use and may encourage better play by enticing players to select their cards such that they have a maximum number of possible opportunities to have a winning combination amongst their matched subset, h this regard, by selecting more than one card aligned in a vertical column a player ensures that their card prediction includes at least a pair, whereas by selecting elements which fall in the same row ensures that card combinations such as straights and flushes are possible. The betting slip 500 also includes a series of selection boxes 504 which allow the player to indicate the number of cards they are going to select. This is an optional field and maybe omitted if desired, in which case the number of predicted cards is determined by the number of selections made in the selection boxes 502. As described above, rather than a player selecting their own cards they can select the auto-pick box 506, if the player would prefer that the gaming system automatically makes their prediction for them. Selection boxes 508 are used by a player to indicate how much they wish to bet per game. As the player's odds improve with the more cards they predict, the players are given the option of betting more per game if they predict a larger number of cards. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the dividends paid out for a particular bet will vary depending on the number of cards selected and the value of the bet made. Players may optionally be given a choice to opt in or opt out with playing the second game criteria. To indicate their choice players may select either the yes or no selection boxes 510. In some embodiments of the game an additional bet may be able to be made on the second game criteria. In such an embodiment players are asked to indicate the value of the second bet by selecting one of the selection boxes 512. The second game criteria may be in the form of an insurance option allowing the player to mark one or more boxes indicating a winning poker hand on payment of a premium. Examples of wimiing hands include:

A player may accordingly choose to personally select cards in hearts from Ace to eight, and also to pay the premium and tick the box Four-of-a-Kind, or any of the other boxes. An alternate play may result in the player selecting eight cards such as four aces and four kings, paying the premium and ticking the Full House and/or Flush boxes. Players may play more than one game with the same set of predictions, h order to do this the player indicates how many games they wish to play with the card selection by selecting one of the selection boxes 514. It will also be appreciated that non-machine readable game cards can also be used, which allow players to indicate their predicted cards and bets and other required information. Such non-machine readable game cards will be particularly suited to distribution as part of a packaged game to be played at home and may take the form of either disposable or reusable cards that players can write on to indicate their predictions. h addition to the keno type implementations of the present invention described above a variant of the game can be played in a manner similar to bingo (or housie). h this variant of the illustrated embodiment a plurality players each have a game card indicating 15 elements of the group. The elements are typically arranged in three rows of 5 elements. In traditional bingo the object is to match a horizontal line of elements with the elements selected by the house. However in the present game the object for the player is to match either one of the predetermined winning element combinations or a subset of elements that have a total value greater than a predetermined threshold. In the illustrated embodiment in which the elements represent playing cards a player will win if they match one of a predetermined set of poker hands with the house or match cards with a total value over a predetermined threshold value, say 51. To increase tension it is possible to prevent players from calling i.e. indicating that they have won, prior to some predetermined point in the game, eg. after the drawing of the 11^th card. In the event of a tie, eg. more than one person calls at the same time, the winner can be determined by comparing their respective poker hands and designating the player with the highest (or optionally lowest) ranking the winner. Alternatively the winner may be determined based on the total value of their matched subset. A game card suitable for playing a bingo-style variant of a game according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figure 6. The game card 600 includes a series of images of cards arranged in 3 rows 610, 620 and 630 of 5 cards, h use a player can mark off cards on the game sheet as a corresponding card is selected by the house, until either the total value of the matched subset is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold or the matched subset comprise one of a plurality of predetermined winning card combinations. Preferably the threshold value is 51 and/or the winning card combinations are selected from the above defined winning poker hands. The preferred embodiments have been described as using well known 5 card poker hands to determine winning card combinations. It should be appreciated that other card combinations could be used to define winning criterion. For example, it could be determined that 7 cards must be matched that include a 5 card poker hand. Certain "wild" cards may also be designated within the deck of cards that can take any value. The above described embodiments have been described in the context of a game on which players will gamble, however it will also be appreciated that gambling is not an inherent part of the game and that embodiments of the game could be played by awarding points for winning, or even without a scoring or wagering aspect at all. It will be readily apparent that the payout dividends for winning a game can be determined with relative freedom by the house when implementing the present game. In most implementations the house will set the payout dividends such that the payout odds will be less than the odds of winning so that over a statistically significant number of games the house should make a profit. Methods of determining suitable payout dividends for the various ways of winning in a game according to the present invention will be know to those skilled in the art. It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention. The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A method for playing a game wherein one or more players play against a house, by attempting to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by the house from a group of game elements, said method including the steps of: comparing the subset of elements selected by the house to a prediction made by the or each player, determining a matched subset for the or each player that includes the subset of elements selected by the house that are included in the prediction made by the player; and comparing the or each player's matched subset with one or more predefined winning element combinations to determine whether the or each player has won.

2. The method of claim 1 which further includes: assigning a value to each element of the group; and calculating a total value of the elements of the or each player's matched subset; and comparing the calculated value of the elements in the or each player's matched subset to at least one predetermined criterion to determine whether the or each player has won against the predetermined criterion.

3. The method of any one of the preceding claims which further includes, awarding a prize if a player has won.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims which includes receiving a wager on the outcome of the game from a player

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims wherein the elements of the group are represented as playing cards or numbers.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the winning element combinations represent poker hands.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the winning element combinations include one or more of the following poker hands: Royal Flush; Straight Flush; Three Pairs; Four-of-a-Kind; Full House; Straight; Flush; Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pairs, a Pair.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the winning element combinations include one or more of the following card combinations: Five picture playing cards; Five alternating playing cards; Five playing cards from 9 high to 4 low which does not contain a straight; any pairs or flushes.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein the predetermined criterion is that the calculated value of the elements a player's matched subset is greater than or equal to a threshold value.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the threshold value is 51.

11. A system for playing a game wherein one or more players play against a house, by attempting to predict at least some of the members of a subset of game elements that will be selected by the house from a group of game elements, the system including: input means configured to receive from the or each player, a prediction of the subset of game elements that will be selected for the house; a computer memory and computer processor means, said computer memory storing thereon a set of instructions configured to cause the computer processor means to: select a plurality of game elements for the house; compare the prediction made by the or each player with the elements selected for the house to determine the or each player's matched subset; and compare the matched subset for each player to one or more predefined winning element combinations to determine if the or each player has won.

12. The system of claim 11 further including one or more display means configured to visually communicate to the one or more players at least the elements selected for the house.

13. The system claimed in either one of claims 11 or 12 which further includes a wagering sub-system associated with the input terminal that is configured to receive bets from one or more players.

14. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein the wagering sub-system is further configured to pay a dividend to one or more winning players at the completion of the game.

15. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 14 wherein the computer processor means is further configured to calculate the total value of a player's matched subset and compare the total value of a player's matched subset to a predetermined criterion.

16. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 15 wherein the computer processor means is further configured to determine a dividend to be awarded to a player if the player has won.

17. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 16 where the input means includes any one or more of the following input devices: a reading device configured to read a machine readable card or coupon or the like; a keyboard; a keypad; a touch sensitive display; one or more push-buttons; a computer mouse, an automated voice response system; a speech recognition interface.

18. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 17 wherein the computer processor means is further configured to select one or more elements to be included in a player's prediction.

19. The system as claimed in claim 18 wherein the computer processor means is configured to make a prediction for a player such that the elements predicted for the player include at least one subset of elements that fulfils the predetermined criterion.

20. The system claimed in any one of claims 11 to 19 wherein at least one of the input means and the one or more display means is located remotely from the computer processor means.

21. A game card for use in a game played in accordance with the method claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 including a plurality of indicating zones corresponding to respective elements of the group said indicating zones being selectable by a player to indicate the player's prediction that the corresponding element of the group will be selected by the house.

22. The game card as claimed in claim 21 wherein the card includes indicia indicating which element of the group corresponds to each indicating zone.

23. The game card as claimed in either one of claims 21 or 22 wherein the elements of the group are represented by playing cards.

24. The game card as claimed in claims 23 wherein each indicating zone is associated with a representation of the rank and suit of the playing card corresponding to the element represented by the indicating zone.

25. The game card as claimed in claim 24 wherein the representation of the rank and suit of the playing card includes a representation of a face of a playing card.

26. The game card as claimed in any one of claims 21 to 25 wherein the game card is machine readable.

27. A method for conducting a game, played by a plurality of players including; defining a group of elements with which the game is to be played; providing, for each of said players a game set representing a plurality of elements of said group; and selecting elements of the group at least until at least one winner is declared, wherein a player is eligible to be declared a winner when a subset of elements of the player's game set that match the selected elements, form at least one predefined winning element combination.

28. The method of claim 27 which includes: assigning a value to each element of the group; and calculating a total value of the elements in a player's game set that match the selected elements; wherein a player is eligible to be declared a winner if the total value of the elements in the player's game set that match the randomly selected elements meets at least one predetermined criterion.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the predetermined criterion requires the total value of the elements in a player's game set that match the selected elements is at least equal to a predetermined threshold.

30. The method of any one of claims 27 to 29 wherein the elements of the group are represented as playing cards.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the winning element combinations represent poker hands.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the winning element combinations include one or more of the following poker hands: Royal Flush; Straight Flush; Three Pairs; Four-of-a-Kind; Full House; Straight; Flush; Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pairs; a Pair.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the predetermined element combinations include one or more of the following combinations: Five picture playing cards; Five alternating playing cards; Five playing cards from

9 high to 4 low which does not contain a straight, any pairs or flushes.

34. The method of claim 29 wherein the predetermined threshold value is 51.

35. A game card for use in a game played in accordance with the method claimed in any one of claims 27 to 34 which includes a plurality of indicia representing the elements of a player's game set.

36. The game card as claimed in claim 35 wherein the elements of the group are represented by playing cards.

37. The game card as claimed in either of claims 35 or 36 wherein the game card is configured to allow a player to record that an element in the game set matches one of the selected elements.

38. The game card as claimed in any one of claims 35 to 37 wherein the indicia representing the elements of the player's game set are arranged in one or more rows or columns.

39. The game card as claimed in claim 38 in which each row includes representations of 5 group elements.

40. A computer software application configured to cause a computer to conduct a game in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 10.